Doan close to resigning with Phoenix?

Are the Phoenix Coyotes and team captain Shane Doan closing in on a contract extension? That’s what many reports are suggesting. In fact, Doan is reportedly very close to agreeing upon a new contract with the Coyotes.

William DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports was the first to report the alleged deal Thursday.

The rumored contract extension really took off when Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal, reported that to-be owner, Greg Jamison, had secured enough investor commitments for the remaining amount of money he needed in order to purchase the Coyotes and keep the team in Arizona.

“Two sources with knowledge of the three-year-old Coyotes ownership saga say Jamison now has the investors and partners in place to finally buy the Coyotes and a deal could close very soon.

One source familiar with the deal said Jamison has secured the money and partners to buy the team and final details are being reviewed by the NHL.” – Mike Sannucks

The deal is said to be a 4-year deal, but it is not yet known what the dollar amount is expected to be. That’s not to say that we don’t even know for certain if Doan is actually indeed close to resigning with Phoenix despite the reports!

The 35-year old Halkirk, AB native has made visits to Vancouver, New York (Rangers), as well as Philadelphia who all are/were considered favorites to land the veteran right winger.

A couple days after his second visit to Vancouver, it was reported that Doan had narrowed his list down to 3 teams. Those teams being the Canucks, the Rangers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Where is Nashville on that list? Philadelphia? Well… Andrew Dintino of TheHockeyHouse.net did some fishing around and exchanged a couple emails back and fourth with Doan’s agent, Terry Bross. Andrew asked if the rumored reports of Philly being out of the race were true, only to get an email back saying, and I quote: “Flyers very much in the mix, don’t believe everything you read.”

Yes, he could have just made that up, but why would anyone of such nature who doesn’t even look at himself as a go-to person for Flyers rumors, do something like that?

Anyways, coming off a season in which he scored 22 goals & added 28 assists for 50 points in 79 games, Doan was reportedly requesting a 4-year deal worth $30,000,000 in total to acquire his services. That’s a $7,500,000 cap hit!

For teams such as Vancouver & Philadelphia, that might be too much to keep them in the race for the 2-time All-Star for they are right at the cap. The Canucks have only $2,431,667 in cap space despite trying to trade Roberto Luongo’s $5,333,333 cap hit while the Flyers on the other hand, only have $3,556,627 in cap space despite not putting Chris Pronger on LTIR yet which would give them almost an extra $5,000,000 to work with.

The Penguins do have enough cap room to fit $7,500,000 in but with the CBA expiring September 15th, no one knows what the new salary cap will be. That could easily lead to Pittsburgh backing out on Doan.

Other interested teams such as the Sharks, Canadiens & Blackhawks, just aren’t willing to commit that much money for a 35+ contract and rightfully so.

One interested team though, has more than enough money to offer Doan what he wants. That team being the Nashville Predators whom reportedly offered Doan a 4-year deal worth $28,000,000. That report remains an unconfirmed rumor.

Doan is still a great player, don’t get me wrong. But he is long gone from the prime of his career and is nearing the end of it as this should be his last contract. Well, at least his last multi-year contract.

Without any question, Doan can still contribute 20+ goals & 50+ points on whomever team he will choose to play for. Although he isn’t considered a “difference maker”, Doan can still come up big in clutch times.

If he remains in Phoenix, that’s great for him and his family, for that’s what the call home.

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